Yes. In China, copyright infringement is not only a civil wrong — once the scale passes certain thresholds it becomes a criminal offence. The core provision is Article 217 of the Criminal Law, which carries up to three years’ imprisonment for “relatively large” illegal gains, and up to ten years where those gains are “huge”.
What does Article 217 cover?
Article 217, as amended by Amendment XI to the Criminal Law, punishes anyone who, for the purpose of profit:
- reproduces or distributes, or communicates to the public online, another person’s literary, musical, artistic or audiovisual works or computer software without the owner’s permission;
- publishes books in which another party holds exclusive publishing rights;
- reproduces or distributes, or transmits online, another party’s sound or video recordings without permission;
- transmits a performer’s performance online without permission;
- produces or sells artistic works bearing another person’s forged signature;
- deliberately circumvents or destroys technological protection measures.
Where the illegal gains are “huge” or the circumstances “especially serious”, the sentence rises to three to ten years. Knowingly selling infringing copies for profit is separately punishable under Article 218 with up to five years.
Where is the line between civil and criminal?
The current yardstick is the intellectual-property criminal interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Fa Shi [2025] No. 5, in force since 26 April 2025. Under its Article 13, illegal gains of RMB 30,000 or more are “relatively large”; “other serious circumstances” include an illegal business volume of RMB 50,000+, reproducing or distributing 500+ copies, distributing 500+ works online, 10,000+ downloads, 100,000+ clicks, or 1,000+ registered members for membership-based distribution. Ten times those figures is “huge / especially serious”. Under Article 14, selling infringing copies with illegal gains of RMB 50,000+ counts as “huge” for Article 218.
What this means for companies and executives
Article 220 extends liability to legal persons: a company can be fined, and its directly responsible managers and staff prosecuted as individuals. Cases usually begin with a rights-holder complaint to the police or the copyright authority, and the “for profit” element is the hinge — internal copying or purely personal use without a profit motive is generally handled as a civil matter.
Hypothetical: a small studio in China copies a competitor’s paid software module and sells annual subscriptions; 800 paying downloads and illegal gains above RMB 30,000 would push what looks like a commercial dispute into Article 217 criminal territory.
The bottom line: copyright in China can be enforced with prison, and the thresholds are now clearer than ever — so obtain a licence before you copy, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What does Article 217 cover?
A: Article 217, as amended by Amendment XI to the Criminal Law, punishes anyone who, for the purpose of profit : reproduces or distributes, or communicates to the public online, another person’s literary, musical, artistic or audiovisual works or computer software without the owner’s permission; publishes books in which another party holds exclusive publishing rights; reproduces or distributes, or transmits online, another party’s sound or video recordings without permission; transmits a performer’s performance online without permission; produces or sells artistic works bearing another person’s forged signature; deliberately circumvents or destroys technological protection measures.
Q: Where is the line between civil and criminal?
A: The current yardstick is the intellectual-property criminal interpretation issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Fa Shi [2025] No. 5, in force since 26 April 2025.
Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512